


Hound

by A_ravenclaw_marauder, Darkicedragon, Madame_aZure, Thedreaminus



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Gen, Self Harm, recovering from abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-17 21:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 15,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12374673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_ravenclaw_marauder/pseuds/A_ravenclaw_marauder, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkicedragon/pseuds/Darkicedragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_aZure/pseuds/Madame_aZure, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thedreaminus/pseuds/Thedreaminus
Summary: Werewolves weren’t equals. They were only hounds of the Union, only useful as attack dogs, and not that much more intelligent. That’s what M-21′s been taught his entire life and that’s what he believes.Until his owner Jake is killed and he’s taken in by strange new owners, who give him a new collar, and keep insisting that he’s a ‘person’… That’s not true of course, but he has to keep his new owners happy or else they’ll put him down like the rest of his pack.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Brief overview is werewolves are still in their humanoid form here, though partially transformed, so they have a bit of the fur across their cheeks, fangs and claws. They've also been taught to move around on all fours. 
> 
> We're jumping around in the timeline, so some snippets might contradict each other as we update information and add more details later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure and darkicedragon.

“What do we do with him?” Tao asked, glancing at their guest. M-21 was sitting in a corner, knees pulled up to his chest, mindlessly playing with the white cravat Raizel had tied around his neck in place of the collar Frankenstein had destroyed, still too out of it to do anything else.

“We’ll let him calm down. He went through quite a shock. After that…” Frankenstein wasn’t really sure. There was no point in asking M-21 what he wanted to do. Years of conditioning at the Union had thought him that he shouldn’t ever want anything at all. His owner’s will was his and that was the end of it. It was a… difficult situation.

* * *

It was soft? M-21 touched the collar around his neck again, his ears pricked for a reaction from his new owners.

There wasn’t one.

He wasn’t supposed to touch the collar, no matter how it hurt or chaffed against his skin, but the new collar was so _different_ from his previous one. Soft… Like the new clothes he’d been given.

Different different different, everything was so different from his previous owners that he didn’t know what to expect. They’d changed his collar, marking him as theirs, they talked in soft voices without a hard edge, there was no underlying threat in their voices either, promising punishment if he stepped wrong. They’d even given him space and backed off when he’d snapped at them after his collar mark been touched. His previous owners would have pinned him down and finished what they were doing.

He touched the collar again. Maybe it was only a temporary one until a metal collar was made.

Yes, that had to be it. He would have a metal collar again soon. Then everything would start making sense again.

_Posted 28 Sept, 2017_


	2. Scratch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

M-21 sat next to his owner’s leg, watching the steam wisp up from his cup. It was quiet except for Tao tapping on his laptop and rain drumming against the window. Frankenstein was in the kitchen, doing something that smelled interesting. 

His collar mark had started getting itchy and he scratched at it, sighing at the release. The feeling came back, worse than before and he rumbled a little in his throat, scratching harder. 

There was blood in the air -his own, so it didn’t matter- but he just wanted the feeling to _stop_. 

“M? Hey, what’s - _M_!”

M-21 froze midscratch. What had he done wrong? He hadn’t growled, hadn’t made too much noise or a mess- 

Tao crouched in front of him and M-21 leaned back, looking away from him. 

“You’re bleeding.”

Oh. M-21 blinked. Was that it? He would heal. 

M-21 moved to scratch again-

“Wait. Wait, no, don’t do that.” Tao reached over, and M-21 snapped his eyes to Tao’s hand, breath caught in his throat. 

Tao stopped, and then brought his hand back. “M, you shouldn’t scratch. You’ll make it worse.” 

What was wrong with that? 

M-21 ducked his head when there was a light pressure on his head, but lifted it again when he realised it was his owner’s. 

“I have a salve that can help with the itchiness,” and M-21 froze at that voice. 

No. No, no, he didn’t want Frankenstein’s salves! Frankenstein used _needles._ He whined, even as his owner kept petting him. 

“Frankenstein will not hurt you,” his owner said when Frankenstein left but that was lies. Needles hurt. Whatever was inside the needles hurt inside him for hours afterwards. 

When M-21 heard the living room door open again, he backed away from his owner’s hand, away from Tao, hiding away around the sofa. He whined, trying to decide on going around the sofa or to the more defensible corner as he heard Frankenstein approach. 

“Frankenstein.”

The footsteps stopped. “But Master…” 

There wasn’t anything said for a few heartbeats before Frankenstein said, “Yes, Master.” 

What was happening? Tao had come to the corner with him, smiling but not trying to get closer. 

“M-21.” 

He turned his head towards his owner, not wanting to poke his head around yet. 

“Frankenstein is in the kitchen again,” his owner said as M-21 heard movement on the other side of the room. 

Frankenstein wasn’t going to poke him with needles? 

“I will put the salve on you.” 

…Oh. But it wasn’t Frankenstein, and his new owner was nice, so maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? They were insisting he needed a salve so M-21 slunk out, double-checking where Frankenstein was. 

Frankenstein was still in the kitchen, his back to them. 

His new owner looked down at him and said, “You will need to sit next to me.” 

M-21 stilled. But that was on the sofa — that was for humans and owners. 

“It’s not bad sitting there, M,” Tao said. “It’s nice and soft, you’ll see.” 

M-21 made a grumbling sound, but it was an order so he climbed up, looking between Tao and his owner when Tao sat on his other side. The sofa didn’t feel that stable to stand on, his paws sinking into it. 

The vantage point felt too high and he had already been ducking his head when Tao started running his fingers through his hair. M-21 would have normally would have leaned into the touch, but he watched his owner open up the small tub in his hand, coating his finger with the off-white _stuff_ inside. It smelled of chemicals and M-21 whined, wanting to get away, his heart beating harder. 

“It’s gonna be okay, M,” Tao murmured as M-21 saw his owner’s fingers come closer to him. 

He closed his eyes and stiffened when he felt the stuff touch his skin. It was - cool? There was no other reaction as his owner spread it further. 

“Gonna have to move yer collar a bit,” Tao said, and M-21 collar was eased lower. It stayed on though. 

His owner continued putting the salve on, and bit by bit, the itchiness around M-21′s neck eased until he didn’t feel the need to scratch anymore. 

Tao took over for the back of M-21′s neck and M-21 pressed his forehead into his owner as Tao did that. 

“All done,” Tao said. “Feel better?”

M-21 nodded. He pulled away from his owner’s touch, and when his owner took his hand back, M-21 hopped back to the floor, where it felt more natural being.

He glanced at Frankenstein’s back once he’d settled down again. The salve _had_ made him feel better and he hadn’t gotten any other side effects like he usually did. 

Maybe Frankenstein wasn’t as bad as his previous owners…?

 

_Posted  Oct 1, 2017_


	3. Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon and Madame aZure

Something was wrong with the werewolf Raizel had brought into his home. 

Fine, there were a _lot_ of things wrong with the werewolf. From the chunk of flesh that had been carved out of his neck, scar tissue still pink and slowly healing it over, to the fact the werewolf loped around on all fours like he was instinctual all the time. He was half transformed too, Muzaka seeing a flash of fur across his cheeks before the werewolf had hid around the sofa. 

But that wasn’t what made Muzaka look twice. He knew what the Union had been doing to his people, so that behaviour wasn’t surprising to him. 

The werewolf was _babbling_. Babbling like a pup only a few decades old and just learning to speak. But that didn’t match up with the adult body he had, the claws he’d already developed. Maybe it was what the Union had done to him…?

“Hey,” Muzaka said, “kid, c’mere.” Calling the werewolf ‘kid’ slipped out, but the werewolf sounded so much like a child, that stuck more than how the werewolf looked. 

It was a few seconds before the werewolf slunk out, head lowered and keeping one side pressed to the sofa. _No_ werewolf should ever look like that and Muzaka didn’t stop the soft growl escaping his throat. 

The werewolf whined in return, curling into himself even more, and it was more of the same, the sound carrying intent but no clear message. 

“Kid,” Muzaka said, “how old are you?” 

The werewolf didn’t answer, only giving him a questioning lilt. 

“How many years do you remember?” Muzaka tried again. 

Still nothing, though the kid glanced in Raizel’s direction. 

Muzaka followed his gaze and Raizel’s eyes had narrowed. Nothing obvious, but Muzaka had been around Raizel enough to be able to tell when his facial expression changed, and _that_ on Raizel’s face was scowling on anyone else’s. 

“The…Union scientists,” Raizel said, “said M-21 is about twenty-eight years old.” 

Muzaka’s anger warred with his horror at the realisation he’d been _right_. “ _What?”_ he snarled, taking a step towards Raizel. “They’ve been using _pups?”_ The Union hadn’t just been twisting his people into shadows of their former selves. They hadn’t just been using warriors, who had been training their strength to protect those weaker than themselves. 

They’d made _children_ , ones young enough that they shouldn’t _have_ their claws yet, into trained killers with no thoughts of their own. 

“We have to-!” Muzaka was so focused on Raizel he didn’t have time to react to the silver blur that barrelled into him.

* * *

Muzaka gritted his teeth as his back hit the wall with enough force to break it, cracks spreading all across its surface. Well, that was going to greatly piss off the peacock. However, that wasn’t his main concern at the moment.

M-21 was now standing between him and Raizel, his body arched and tensed like a coil ready to spring, lips pulled over long, sharp fangs, his menacing growls reverberating in the room. Transformed, the fur on his arms was all poofed up, his claws twitching, ready to attack him at a moment’s notice should he further prove to be a threat to Raizel’s – his _‘owner’_ – safety.

With the way he held himself, he surely looked like no pup to Muzaka. At a drop of a pin his whole demeanor changed, no longer the docile and fearful werewolf pup, but a ruthless killer. Whatever those Union bastards did to him to make him like this, it was damn effective.

“M-21.” The kid perked up at his name being called. “That is enough.” Raizel said calmly, returning the teacup back onto the low table.

In an instant M-21 shifted back to his normal state, and when Raizel held out his hand, beckoning to him, he obediently went to his side. He took a seat on the floor near Raizel’s knees, sighing and leaning into the touch as Raizel began stroking his hair. He didn’t fully calm down, though, his head slightly turned to Muzaka so he could watch him better in case he tried something again.  

Muzaka clenched his fists in helpless anger, feeling his throat vibrate with another growl, knowing he should’ve done something, anything about this, about his kind being used as dogs by those bastards at the Union, but when Raizel glanced ever so fleetingly at him, a subtle warning to cease provoking the werewolf again, he sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat.

Yeah, it was better if he stopped doing that. Who knew how the kid would react to…

Hmmm…

He wondered… would this pup even know about…

Instead of his usual, angry growls, a different sound passed his lips. Low, warm, and comforting, a rumble in the back of his throat, and M-21’s full attention was instantly on him. His head tilted in curiosity or confusion, Muzaka couldn’t tell, at the sound he made, which only made his heart clench painfully.

The kid was responding to him baby-talking back. He could recognize the sounds werewolf parents used to make to their pups…

When Muzaka made another such rumble, the sound curling at the end as if it were a question, M-21 instinctively made a little noise in reply, his eyes growing wide in realization that he just did that unknowingly. Such a display of lack of control would’ve been punished at the Union, M-21 reflexively squaring his shoulders, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Muzaka just sighed, murmuring bitterly as he shook his head at the way M-21 reacted. “You’re still just a pup.”

 Still, this pup recognized the werewolf rumble for ‘cuddles’, so maybe there was still some hope for him.

* * *

M-21 remembered that growl. It didn’t sound right, the sound lower, but he _remembered_ that growl — he’d only heard it from a few of the other hounds, but then the owners took them away and he never heard it again… 

Just hearing it made M-21 think of warmth and safety. It was an invitation for something and M-21 had already half turned, a paw in the air, when he realised he was doing it. 

Wait. 

He froze. 

What _was_ he doing?

Just because of a growl he was going to go to the free hound that had been threatening his owner? 

M-21 growled softly in his throat, putting his paw down again, staying where he was. 

The free hound was dangerous. He had to stay on guard around him in case the free hound made him do something he wasn’t supposed to.

_Posted 11 Oct, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, if werewolf ageing and adulthood is similar to nobles’, that means M-21′s something like 3-5 years old in werewolf years…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure and darkicedragon.

If the hound had chosen to snarl or even attack him for whatever the injustice done to his kind by the Union he kept blabbering about, it would’ve been fine. He could endure it like he’d been taught to.  But the hound raised his voice at his owners.

His. Owners.

Without even a warning growl, M-21 suddenly grabbed the hound and slammed him onto the ground, the attack taking him by surprise as he had been busy shouting at people he should’ve have never raised his voice at. M-21 quickly climbed on top of him, immobilizing him, his claws out and at the hound’s pulsepoint.

“M-21.”

M-21’s claws twitched at the calm voice stopping him from tearing that hound’s throat out. Out the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the quiet owner, now sitting up from his favored spot and walking to them.

Oh. No.

He screwed up. He screwed up big time. He thought… The hound… He was shouting at his owners. Threatening them. His body language was telling him he would attack. M-21 just tried to protect them.

“It’s alright.” Raizel gently patting his head, and M-21 whined questioningly, fearing he was still in the wrong. “I know you were protecting us.” Raizel reassure him. “He may seem like one, but he’s not a threat,” he continued, glancing disapprovingly at Muzaka.

* * *

Muzaka huffed as he hopped back to his feet, rubbing a hand over his throat, the wounds the pup had given him already healed. “Of course I’m not a threat,” Muzaka said. Not to Raizel. Not anymore. He glanced at the pup who was crouched behind Raizel’s legs, but the pup’s gaze skittered away from him.

Bastards.

His temper flared again, and it was only because of Raizel’s look he didn’t start picking objects up with his aura.

“You did good, kid,” Muzaka said instead, seeing the pup still, glancing at Muzaka through the corner of his eyes. “It was a solid hit.”

The pup’s lips twisted down into a frown, his forehead creasing.

Still no response aside from the soft warning growl at the back of the kid’s throat, wanting Muzaka to back off. He wasn’t going to, so the pup could learn he wouldn’t hurt Raizel.

“Please don’t raise your voice again,” Raizel said, his fingers still going through the pup’s hair, and Muzaka pursed his lips.

“How can I when-”

The pup’s growl ratcheted up.

The reason for _why_ he’d been losing his temper in the first place was crouched right there.

He’d heard what the Union had been doing to his people, but to _see_ _it_ with his own eyes was something else.

He sighed. “Later?” When the pup was out the room or sleeping.

Raizel nodded.

_Posted 29 Sept, 2017_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon and Thedreaminus.

M-21 continued to eye the free hound from the corner of his eyes as the free hound talked at him.

“-thinking of having a spar. What do ya say?”

The free hound kept _looking_ at him, trying to make eye contact. And the free hound wanted something. This had to be his punishment for attacking the free hound earlier.

He followed the free hound with stiff legs as they went downstairs to Frankenstein’s lab, and each step solidified the dread in his stomach further. He was going to be punished. That was why they were going into Frankenstein’s lab.

The free hound took him to an empty room and M-21 skirted along the wall, his heart thudding harder when the door clicked shut behind them. No other exits, no windows, not that he would run. Running meant a harsher punishment.

“Ready?”

M-21 nodded and braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut when he heard the free hound rush towards him.

The footsteps stopped and M-21 didn’t hear anything for a few heartbeats. Was the free hound trying to figure out what to do to hurt him the most?

“…Kid?”

M-21 didn’t dare to open his eyes, in case it was a trap. In case the free hound wanted him to see the blow coming.

“You _do_ know what a spar is, right?” 

M-21 didn’t answer and the weight of the air increased for a heartbeat as M-21 felt the free hound’s aura press on him. It disappeared, but M-21 hunched his shoulders more, leaning away as best as he could.

“I wanted to see-” A sharp, loud sigh. “Never mind. Go on, go back upstairs. Go see Raizel.”

M-21 dashed for the door before the free hound could change his mind, and even as M-21 raced up the stairs, he could feel the free hound’s aura chasing at his heels.

He wasn’t caught or dragged back, the free hound staying in the room, and it was a relief when he curled up around his owner’s feet, feeling fingertips softly going through his hair.

* * *

He was angry, probably desperate, but he forced himself to suppress his temper. Raizel and Frankenstein alone knew that his mind had certainly not calmed over the past few centuries. From the corner of his eyes he observed the puppy, the boy who lived with Raizel. For his sake, he forced himself to remain calm, he had already experienced the puppy reacting violently when he was loud.

It was almost humiliating to see how the puppy behaved, or to think of how he must have behaved his entire life before he came under Raizel’s care. If only he could get those mendacious bastards who did this to his people, in his claws …

The puppy looked at him strangely, what was it this time?

Muzaka swallowed when he noticed that he had just growled, and not that softly. He should retreat for the time being to cool down before the puppy could assume again that he wanted to attack someone. He had to credit the puppy for his … hm … protector instincts. Only unfortunately, he had concluded that Muzuka would hurt him as punishment later.

He pushed open the door to the garden and stepped out. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, so that he had them at least somewhere. He simply stood there motionless, thinking.

He contemplated everything that Frankenstein had told him, about the experiments the Union had been carrying out on his people. He hoped and believed that the Union had not managed to enslave all his people. Which, however, did not solve the question of how the Union succeeded in capturing some of them on the first place. Yes, almost to _breed_ them to their advantage, to _cripple_ them, _so far_ that none of them knew anymore who they really were.

He was so angry. Not on the puppies, by the honor of ancestors he could not blame the child for behaving like that. He had never learned anything else, and only understood himself as a lower existence. His dignity had been taken him before he even realized what it was.

Now Frankenstein’s household, and Raizel himself had given all their efforts to show the puppy that he was not their pet. He was no one’s pet, but in some moments, Muzaka strongly doubted the boy understood them correctly. That he even comprehended what the others actually wanted from him when they encouraged him to speak, and to make his own choices.

To make it even more difficult, he had left a bad impression on their first meeting which caused the puppy to handle his presence even less than the other strangers. The puppy won’t even look into his eyes anymore, he had become so afraid of him. His attempt to loosen up the relationship during a training fight had only made it worse.

Muzaka massaged his forehead exasperated, and thought about ways he could become friends with him. Involuntarily, he remembered the moment the puppy had dared to attack him. In the first moment he had been too surprised to react, but on that occasion he had seen something in the boy’s eyes. Something that showed him that the puppy was not completely broken. That he still had something in him that reminded of a _real_ werewolf.

If he only …  
  
A soft creak interrupted his thoughts. He did not bother to turn around as he knew who this aura belonged to. At the same time, Muzaka feared that the puppy might be frightened again as soon as he moved too fast.

Tugging in his aura, trying not to scare the child, he slowly turned around to face the newcomer. The puppy was not looking at him, he always stared at some point beside Muzaka. Then his eyes wandered quickly to him, a mere glance and hastily looked away again.

Muzaka frowned, but the boy said nothing and seemed to be getting more and more nervous as the seconds trickled by. He turned around again, and looked at the dim moon, listening as the boy crept behind him indecisively.

Could it be that he was curious? It was full moon last night. There was a possibility that the puppy was still largely instinctive or at least influenced. Muzaka lamented that the Union had forced him to suppress his instincts, or it would not be so difficult for him to interact with the puppy as a werewolf.

Muzuka could feel the boy creeping closer to him, and sniff. Then suddenly he jumped back as if something had frightened him. Muzaka could not prevent himself from twitching a little even though he had really tried not to move.

What the … ?  
  
He turned around and found the kid intently staring at the floor, hunched on himself. He gave a strange whine. Muzaka narrowed his eyes when he realized that the boy was trying to _apologize_.

“Stop it,” he snapped involuntarily, and the puppy immediately fell silent and made himself even smaller, if that was even possible.  
  
Damn, he was not good at it. Muzaka ran a hand through his hair and muttered a soft, chosen curse.

“Look at me boy” he tried to encourage the puppy and crouched down in front of him. The boy avoided his gaze. Muzaka stifled an impatient sound.  
  
“Look. At. Me” he growled almost more emphatically.

The puppy twitched noticeably and raised his head to look very briefly into his eyes.  
  
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No trace of the will he had seen when the puppy had felt compelled to defend Raizel from him. Before him was just a hound. A trained dog of the Union, without his own identity.

He was sure that the boy had taken everything out of himself to pull through. Werewolves were survival artists who adapted to their environment to have a better chance. The child had adjusted to the Union in order to survive, and Muzaka could he not grudge that. But now he was no longer in the Union.

“I want to ask you something,” he began, still trying to look into the child eyes. “You do not have to answer if you don’t want” he got up and moved away from the puppy, hearing his sigh of relief.

“And I will not attack you either,” he added bitterly, assuming that the boy probably expected exactly that.

The puppy did not answer him, but he got up and moved independently. He had not dared to do so at their last meeting. Muzaka counted this as an improvement.  
  
“If your comrades,” he began, thinking of the two modified humans who were trying to teach the puppy certain things, “ask for your opinion or ask you to talk to them, do you understand why they do that?”

The puppy did not move. Muzuka decided to become more emphatic.

“Do you follow what they tell you just to obey them, or because you are interested and want to do it?” Muzaka crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited.

The puppy looked nervously back and forth “I … understand …”

“Not?” Muzaka finished the sentence for him. Of course he did not understand. “Look, M-21, what they are trying to make you understand is that you are not a goddamn dog! You are a human! The Union didn’t treat you as such, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop being a human! You are a werewolf. Just like me! Or, if it’s better for you to understand, you’re a free hound!”

Muzaka could see how the eyes of the puppy were getting bigger and bigger. Well, at least he reached something with his words.  
  
“In the end it is upto you,” he continued quietly, “You can, of course, continue to stay the same way as the Union made you to be,” The last words he spat out formally, “A good little pet dog, quite to the tastes of those bastards and …”  
  
He fell silent. The puppy had _growled_ at him. He had looked into his eyes! Muzaka could not resist a thin grin as he also stared into the boy’s eyes. That was exactly what he had hoped to see. This spark you could make a fire from.  
  
“ _Or_ you can start learning who you really are”

_Posted Oct 2, 2017_


	6. Den

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

Rai knocked on M-21′s door and waited. He felt M-21 jerk at the noise, focusing on the door, but he did not approach, staying where he was. 

Hm…

M-21 would not come to the door… Rai waited a few more seconds before opening the door and walked in. 

He knew where M-21 was but he blinked when his gaze pointed him towards the cupboard. Was his sensing power wrong?

But M-21 was nowhere else in the room, and the cupboard was the only place he could be other than the bathroom. 

M-21 stood up as Rai approached, but he still did not leave the cupboard. 

“M-21,” Rai called out, watching the sliding door. 

A soft whine answered him, movement from inside the cupboard, all of M-21′s attention on him. 

Hm… 

M-21 wasn’t more hurt than the last time Rai had seen him, and M-21 seemed to be waiting for something. 

Rai gently pushed the sliding door open, revealing M-21′s face within. 

“The entire room is yours,” Rai told him, “not just the cupboard.” 

M-21 glanced around the room and shrank back into the cupboard. Rai got a flash of crossed wires on all sides, of the bedroom being too open, too exposed from what M-21 was used to. 

…Ah. So that was why. 

Very well. “Dinner is almost ready,” Rai said and M-21 blinked, confusion at having multiple meals a day filling the air. 

Rai waited, stepping back from the cupboard to give M-21 space. 

M-21 crept out and followed him as Rai led the way downstairs. 

* * * 

Takeo frowned as he rummaged through one of his drawers. He was sure… 

With a sigh, he left his room and went to Tao’s. The door was ajar, meaning Tao didn’t mind people walking right in, but Takeo knocked anyway. 

“S’open, Takeo!” 

Tao was curled up on his bed his laptop balanced on top of his knees and Tao looked up at him with a grin. “S’up?”

“Do you have one of my shirts?” Takeo asked. “It’s the one with blue and white stripes.” Tao was the only one who would have it if there had been a mix-up with the laundry: everyone else in the house would have returned it to him when they realised it didn’t fit them or wasn’t theirs. 

Tao tilted his head, his gaze drifting upwards. “That one? Nah. Actually, I was meanin’ to ask ya if you’d gotten my off-shoulder top — I haven’t seen that for a couple days now.” 

Takeo shook his head. One of his shirts being misplaced was one thing, but something of theirs both going missing? In Frankenstein’s house? But there was no-one el… 

Takeo looked over in the direction of M-21′s room. 

“Yeeeah, M coulda gotten our stuff,” Tao said, shutting his laptop with a click. 

And he probably wouldn’t have known how to return it. 

“Let’s go ask.” 

Takeo followed Tao as Tao knocked on M-21′s door and entered. “Heeey, M, do you have… Hey?” 

Tao paused and Takeo looked over him, seeing no-one else in the room. There was no sound coming from the bathroom either. 

“I don’t think M-21 would wander,” Takeo said, checking the hallway just in case.

“He’d probably want our permission for that first,” Tao said, checking around the bed. 

Takeo pursed his lips at that reminder, of how little free will M-21 had of his own. 

“He’s not in the bathroom either,” Tao said. 

There weren’t other places M-21 could be except… Except there was a shuffling noise coming from the cupboard. 

Takeo glanced at Tao, who nodded. 

“Heeey, M, you there?” Tao said as they approached. 

A huff. 

“Did ya get stuck in there, huh?” Tao said as Takeo eased the sliding door back.

M-21 was crouched there inside the cupboard. Along with Takeo’s shirt and Tao’s top. And if he wasn’t mistaken, Takeo could see something of Raizel-nim’s in the pile as well. 

“Oooh, so that’s where-” M-21 backed away, his eyes darting to the clothes around him. Tao beamed. “-you are! We were a little worried.”

M-21 relaxed, though he stayed where he was. 

“Do you wanna come out with us or do you wanna stay here?” Tao asked him. 

M-21 didn’t move for a couple seconds. They’d tried to coax M-21 into making decisions, but it seemed to panic him more when given a choice, making him freeze. 

M-21 curled back up on the pile of clothes, watching them from the corner of his eyes. 

“All right,” Tao said with a nod. “We’ll see ya later.” 

Takeo closed the cupboard, making sure to leave a gap. 

When they left M-21′s room, Takeo said, “I can use other tops.” He had enough spare. 

“I was due to buy another bundle anyway — aaah, it’s nice having a salary!”

Takeo looked at Tao. “You’re going to run out of space soon.” 

“And you don’t use enough,” Tao shot back with a grin. “If I do fill everything up, I can just use yours.”

“…Hey…”

_Posted  Oct 3, 2017  
_


	7. Feed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

M-21 stared at the food sitting on the table in front of his nose, shifting a little as his stomach rumbled. The hunger pangs were ignorable, never reaching the levels it could in the Union, but it smelled so nice… 

M-21 watched his owner pick one up, tracking it. And then blinked when the food hovered in front of him. 

Oh. A test of his training and control. 

He looked away from it, even while his nose twitched. 

“I am offering it to you,” his owner said and M-21 perked up. 

He turned back to the food and clasped it between his teeth, taking it from his owner’s hand. The food crunched when he bit down, his mouth filling with sweetness. 

It was gone in two more bites and M-21 watched with more interest when his owner picked up another piece of food. Would he get that one as well?

His owner held it out in front of him as well. “You can eat this one.” 

M-21 ate it, hoping his owner would let him eat more.

* * *

Frankenstein was walking towards his lab when he felt surprise followed by worry twist through his and Master’s link. He span on his heel and headed for the living room. 

As soon as he opened the door, he heard someone retching. “Mast-?” It wasn’t Master, his emotions not matching up with what he was hearing. Then who-?

He saw M-21 hunched over outside, whining as he emptied his stomach. 

“Master, what happened?” he asked as he hurried over to check on M-21. 

Stronger worry through their link. “He wanted to eat what I was eating.” 

“And continued to do so.” M-21 would have learned to eat what he could in the Union, and wouldn’t know when to _stop_. 

M-21 heard his voice and flinched, trying to back away from him, a reedy whine bubbling out his throat. 

Frankenstein exhaled and stayed where he was. M-21 seemed fine aside from his case of overeating and he would need to tell Master about the limits of how much M-21 could eat for the moment. 

* * *

Tao hummed, bouncing his foot as he checked his latest feeds on his laptop. He smiled when he saw M-21 approach, eyeing the plate on the table. 

“You want one, huh?” 

M-21 looked away from them, but nodded. 

Tao grinned and gave him one. Boss had made a new batch and there was more than enough for the both of them. 

M-21 settled down next to him and he gave M-21 another sweet. Oh, neat! One of the series he’d been watching had updated and Tao grabbed a handful of the sweets, intending to feed them to M-21 as he focused on the new episode. 

* * *

Takeo carried his plate of snacks to the living room, seeing M-21 already there. M-21 didn’t hide at the sight of him like he was doing with Frankenstein, though he did shuffle his feet a little, watching Takeo walk over. M-21′s attention was on the plate as well. 

“Are you hungry?” 

M-21 nodded as Takeo sat down. Takeo hesitated and then nodded. “I’ll give you some,” Takeo promised. Frankenstein had impressed on them that M-21 was to eat frequently, but not full meals, as his stomach got used to being filled regularly again. And he’d heard from the others what had happened when they’d accidentally overfed M-21. 

M-21 continued eyeing the plate and Takeo had the feeling he was going to have to make sure he stuck with only giving M-21 a few sweets. 

_Posted Oct 4, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was going to be a couple more scenes after this of Tao coaching Takeo on trying to get M-21 to make a choice between sweets, but this was sort of getting long, haha.


	8. Ask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

Takeo turned his head to footsteps circling the sofa. They mostly followed the wall, but it was a trot, M-21 sure of where he wanted to go. 

Takeo paid attention as he turned the page of his book, the rustle of the paper filling the living room. 

M-21 came closer, stopping at Takeo’s elbow. 

“Hello,” Takeo said, smiling at him. 

M-21 exhaled, staring at Takeo’s hand. 

That was strange — M-21 didn’t tend to do that. But he had come up willingly to Takeo and wasn’t wary of him, which was an improvement from a few weeks ago. 

Though the last time M-21′s focus was on Takeo’s hand… 

“I don’t have any sweets at the moment,” Takeo told him, but that didn’t seem to deter M-21, M-21 peeking at him for a second before watching Takeo’s hand again. 

“There’s nothing in it?” Takeo tried again, turning his palm over so M-21 could see it was empty. 

That seemed to be what M-21 was waiting for. M-21 leaned forward and pressed his head to Takeo’s fingers, rubbing against them. 

…Aaah. Takeo smiled as he closed his book, setting it down next to him. “You want me to pet your head?” 

A jerky nod, M-21 glancing at him again. 

“All right.” Takeo started running his fingers through M-21′s hair and M-21 sighed before closing his eyes. M-21 leaned on the sofa, turning his head to direct Takeo’s fingers on where to scratch next.

_Posted Oct 4, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takeo is M-21′s favourite person for a while because he doesn’t give M-21 food that makes him sick! 8′C 8′C


	9. Fetch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon

M-21 looked over at a small ‘thump’. 

There was a small red ball rolling towards him, the puppy standing behind it. When M-21 lifted a front leg so the ball wouldn’t bump into it, the puppy whined, taking a step forward, his tail wagging. 

…? What did the puppy want? 

“He wants to play, M,” Tao said with a soft chuckle as he walked over. 

He looked between the ball and the puppy again. What was he supposed to do with the ball _or_ the puppy? 

Tao picked the ball up, tossing it between his hands. “He wants to play ‘fetch’.” At the word, the puppy perked up, going down on his front legs as he kept his attention on the ball, though his back legs stayed up so his butt was in the air.

“Like this: fetch!” As soon as Tao said it, he threw the ball low so it when it bounced it was about the puppy’s height. 

The puppy chased after it. His first attempt to catch the ball was a miss, jaws snapping at air, but the puppy was able to pounce on it the next time. 

Tail wagging harder, the puppy bought the ball back to Tao, who picked it up. “Good boy!”

Was it a training exercise? To teach the puppy how to attack? He’d done something similar in the Union, but his targets had been living and he had to bring them back dead. 

Tao turned to him, grinning. “See? It’s fun!” 

…It…was? 

“Fetch!” Tao threw the ball again and he settled down to watch the pair, trying to understand what they were doing and why it was ‘fun’. 

* * *

Takeo kept looking at the clock, which meant he was waiting for someone. When Takeo glanced at him, he quickly averted his gaze.  

“M-21…” Takeo said, and he turned his head towards him to make sure he heard everything. “Tao said he’d told you about ‘fetch’?”

He nodded. 

“Could you ‘fetch’ Tao for me?”

Fetch…Tao? But if he fetched Tao, he would end up hurting him. But…that was the kind of ‘fetch’ he’d done in the Union. If he ‘fetch’ed like the puppy did with the ball…

He nodded. 

“Thank you.” 

He left the living room and went down to the lab, keeping as low as possible, trying to make as little noise as possible. Tao’s room was…here. 

The door opened before he reached it and the room he entered was a green haze, Tao at the far wall. 

Fetch. He had to fetch without hurting Tao. 

Tao didn’t greet him when he approached, so he circled Tao’s chair, making himself as obvious as he could. 

He stayed like that for a few heartbeats, but Tao still didn’t acknowledge him. 

He wasn’t supposed to disturb owners while they were working, but Takeo had already given him an order… 

Carefully he stepped forward and clasped his jaw around Tao’s wrist. 

“Huh-? Eeeh, M? What’s wrong?” 

Tao wasn’t angry. Good. 

He gave a small tug, whining. Takeo was waiting. 

“M…? All right, I’m coming.” Tao stood up and that was good. He kept his hold on Tao, tugging him out the room. 

Tao kept asking questions but he couldn’t answer them; he couldn’t risk wasting time trying to explain. 

They reached the living room and he breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived. He let go of Tao’s wrist once he’d brought Tao to Takeo. Hopefully he hadn’t taken too long. 

“Tak - oooooh, right! Is that what time it is?”

“Yes,” Takeo said with a huff and a shake of his head. 

“Whoops, I’d lost track of time.” Tao laughed while rubbing the back of his head. 

“I know, but M-21 did a good job ‘fetching’ you.” 

“So that’s what that was!” Tao nodded and then turned to him. He shrank back, unsure what Tao’s - “Good job!” 

-reaction was going to be…? He’d done a good job? 

“Though next time yer told to ‘fetch’ me, it might be easier if you threw me over your shoulder.” Tao laughed again, throwing himself onto the sofa. “It’d be a lot faster!” 

He nodded, making sure to remember that for next time. 

* * *

Frankenstein looked around he table, making sure everything was set. It was, most of the household already there. Most. 

He sighed, doing another headcount. Still one less than there should be. “Could someone please fetch Tao-” 

He blinked as a silver blur rushed out the room and then recounted what he’d just said. Nothing there should have worried M-21 enough to run away.

He looked over at a groan and saw Takeo covering his face with a hand. 

“What’s-”

“Uuack! M!” could be heard in the distance, coming closer. 

…Ah. _That’s_ what he’d said to warrant that response. 

When the pair appeared, M-21 had Tao by the wrist, while the rest of Tao was slung over his back. 

“-too early for-!” Tao dazedly looked up at Frankenstein after M-21 had placed him on the floor by Frankenstein’s feet. “Ooh, dinner?” 

“Indeed,” Frankenstein said as Tao hopped back to his feet. 

“Heh, all right!” 

“M-21,” Frankenstein said, making sure M-21 knew he was talking to him, “good job for fetching Tao for me.” 

M-21 perked up at his words, shuffling his feet, and while Frankenstein didn’t know what Tao had done to teach M-21 that, or why, he was glad for another action to praise him for.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by A ravenclaw marauder.

Shin Woo had gone over to the kitchenette to fetch some more snacks when he caught some movements in the dark hallway. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he witnessed a very weird occurance in the hall.

  
A man, on all fours, was peaking out of a room in the hall. However, this wasn’t what was weird about the scene unfolding before him.  
  
Tao hyung, one of the special security guards of his school, came out from another room opposite that man’s room. Seeing him, the crawling man did a soft _growl_ in the back of his throat and sort of bounded over to Tao, still on all fours.  
  
Seeing the man, hyung smiled and crouched down, _petting the man in the head?_ The man too, seemed to be enjoying this, again making that soft growling noise, leaning into hyung’s hand. Why was hyung treating the man like a dog? _And is that man actually rubbing his head on hyung’s thigh?_ What the hell?  
  
He was just about to call Tao hyung when he was called back from the living room.  
  
“Oi Shin Woo, how long will you take over there? Afraid of losing to me?”  
  
The sudden challenge from his friend made the young man push this anomaly from his mind for the time being, deciding that he will think about it after he teaches Ik Han a good lesson. Maybe he should ask the principle himself later?

_Posted Oct 2, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can’t convince me that this couldn’t have happened XP This is when M-21 still isn’t comfortable with the human behaviours and stuffs? I like to think that Frankenstein knew Shin Woo had seen M-21. So he just erased the memory later? Or if he didn’t, could he have explained the game as some sorta truth or dare? What could be the explanation? :3


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure and darkicedragon.

“So, what flavor do you want?”

M-21 kept his head down, not meeting Tao’s eyes, fighting the overwhelming urge to just back down from this. Everything in him was screaming at him to go on his knees and show him that he knew his place, that being not making decisions or standing in his owner’s presence.

Still, he’d disappoint Tao if he were to do that. Tao was trying so hard to teach him all the things, make him understand how he should really act, not how the Union taught him to. He was… patient with M-21. Speaking calmly, carefully explaining every little thing, even the tiniest details of apparently no importance to a normal person, but which M-21 just couldn’t comprehend, not hurting him when he did wrong or fell back into his conditioning.

“I –“ M-21 tried to speak, but the knot in his throat just wouldn’t let the words out. Swallowing hard and clenching his fists, he gathered whatever was left of his courage and tried once again. “Vanilla,” he said, so quiet it was but a whisper.

“A vanilla ice-cream coming right away,” Tao announced, scooping some of it into a desert bowl. “Here you go,” he said, pushing the bowl to M-21. “See, it wasn’t that hard, now was it?”

Decisions - choosing _was_ hard. He’d never had to do it before. So was talking. He knew the words, how to shape them, but he preferred the feel of a growl in his throat; it was more natural and didn’t need as much thought and effort put into it.

M-21 studied the pale yellow ball in the middle of the bowl, his nose twitching. He could mostly smell the cold as Tao put the rest of the ice cream away.

Why had he needed to make a choice anyway? The taste would be different, but it would fill his stomach either way. That was all that mattered.

M-21 leaned in and licked the ball — he snapped back and wrinkled his nose. It was like taking a drink of a ball of water from a mountain spring.

“Huh-? Oh, M, you’re supposed to use a spoon for that.” Tao held out one of those metal implements.

He wrinkled his nose again and sighed, grasping the spoon in a fist. He ate much faster without the tools. But Frankenstein insisted he use that as well, like a human. Human food had to be eaten like a human.

Tao had his own bowl with a ball of pink ice cream and M-21 watched him as Tao scooped up a bit of the ice cream and ate it.

When M-21 did the same, his spoon clinked against the bowl, the ice cream softer than expected.

He grimaced as his teeth scraped against the spoon, being reminded of the times his previous owners had forced him to eat something in the same way. He’d always felt sick afterwards, the owners murmuring between themselves as they stood over him.

“How’s it taste?” Tao said, his own spoon already filled with more ice cream.

How did it taste? He had to describe it now? M-21 swallowed the now liquid. He frowned as he tried to find the word. “…Cold…?”

Tao snickered. “It’s supposed to — that’s the point!”

Human food and how he was supposed to eat it was weird.

_Posted  29 Sept, 2017_


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure.

“Hey, M, look what I have!”

M-21 perked up at the cheerful announcement, looking over at Tao as he entered the living room, his arms full of colorful bags and boxes.

Oh, treats! Tao was bringing him treats.

The only time his previous owners would have done such a thing was when they were giving him something that would most likely make him sick. Treats – as his previous owners called them while wearing those malicious smiles of theirs – weren’t reward, they were punishment. Their foul taste of chemicals would linger on his tongue for hours on end, as his body was reacting to them in the most horrible and painful ways possible. M-21 had learned to loathe the word ‘treat’.

The first time Tao did this, M-21 could feel the dread settle in the pit of his stomach, his heart picking up the pace, wrecking his brain trying to understand what he did to upset him, how had he misbehaved so badly to deserve this kind of thing.

Much to his surprise, the treats Tao gave him didn’t taste bad at all, and afterwards all he felt was a good feeling of fullness, not his body trying to fight whatever was put into that food.

Now, he was looking forward to when Tao would bring him more of those snacks to try.

M-21 walked over to Tao as he put all the snacks on the coffee table.

“Which one do you wanna start with?” Tao clapped his hands as he took a seat on the couch.

M-21 tilted his head, scanning all the bags and boxes and choosing one at random; it didn’t really matter anyway, he knew he’d eventually try them all.

“Oooh, good choice!” Tao took the bag and opened it, tilting it to M-21 and inviting him to he take one.

With a quick glance at Tao to make sure it was ok, M-21 reached into the bag and took one of… whatever those things were.

Tao pressed his lips tighter together to stifle a giggle at M-21’s adorable reactions. M-21 took one of the madeleines, frowning a little in concentration as he studied it, giving it a light sniff before taking a small bite out of it. His eyes sparkled in innocent delight and – aha, there they were! A pair of fluffy grey werewolf ears popped onto M-21’s head, a bushy tail at his back wagging. He must’ve liked that.

They had found out quickly that asking M-21 what he liked was useless because he didn’t even know what _‘like’_ was supposed to mean. So, Tao had taken upon himself to have M-21 taste all kinds of foods and snacks to find out which he preferred. He thought it might be hard, gauging out his preferences from his reactions since his behavior was mostly guarded and wary, but as he had found out, wasn’t all that difficult. It seemed that, if M-21 felt safe and content in their presence, giving him food or doing something that made him happy took his transformation just a step further, and he’d get wolf ears and a tail, which was just too cute not to take at least a thousand photos. 

“So you like that, huh?”

M-21 nodded, his fluffy tail wagging energetically at his back.

“Great! Let’s try these too, ok?”

_Posted Oct 1, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some ideas I talked with darkicedragon about the Hound AU, about M-21′s ears and tail popping out when he’s happy or given his favorite food.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure.
> 
> Contains self-harm.

Tao paused his typing for a moment and glanced at the clock. Hm, he should probably go check on M-21 by now, shouldn’t he?

After everything, this had to happen too. Thankfully, Muzaka had the foresight to warn them about it. The full moon. He advised them to keep an eye on M-21 since it would affect him as much as it affected any other werewolf, but given M-21’s… predicament, it was hard to tell how he would react to it. He could lose control, become violent, hurt himself or even try to run away. They needed to be careful with the pup.

M-21 had retreated to his room earlier and hasn’t left ever since. When they had checked up on him, M-21 was in his bed, trying to sleep, so they left him alone. Still, they needed to check on him from time to time, just to make sure everything was all alright.

Sighing, Tao stood up, leaving his room and going to M-21’s. He knew it would be useless to knock on the door – M-21 barely spoke when they were actually trying to get him to, so he most likely wouldn’t answer  – so he opened the door.

“Hey, M, are you asleep?” Tao asked quietly, peeking into the room, his eyes getting used to the dim light right away. He spotted M-21 in a corner of the room, sitting all curled up, hunched over his knees. Although transformed, he still looked somewhat human, apart from his werewolf ears and tail, the fur on his arms, and the legs that had now rearranged themselves to look like a wolf’s hind paws.

He was breathing heavily, eyes scrunched shut, his expression pained and frightened, biting so hard into his own wrist, blood was flowing freely from the wound down his arm and chin. He looked like he was struggling, trying to fight the transformation from fully taking over him.

As he noticed Tao, he opened his eyes to glance at him, whimpering.

“Hey, it’s ok, it’s ok.” Tao approached M-21 slowly, his hands raised and palms facing M-21.

He crouched in front of him, M-21 instinctually pressing further against the wall as to put more space between them, looking anywhere but at Tao. Tao waited patiently for M-21 to get used to his presence, and when M-21 finally glanced at him, he spoke:

 “M, you have to let go of your wrist, you’re hurting yourself,“ Tao said gently, keeping his body language as open and calm as he could since M-21 seemed to be very sensitive to that, picking up even the slightest change, probably a skill he’s been forced to learn while at the Union.

M-21 only whined at him in response.

“M, let go of your wrist,” Tao repeated in a slightly firmer tone and M-21 flinched and gave in, obediently opening his mouth and pulling his fangs out of his bleeding wrist, taking it into his other hand and pressing it against his chest. “That’s it! Good boy!” Tao praised him.

As predicted, instead of calming M-21, what Tao did it seemed to only agitate him, his breathing becoming even more erratic, his eyes widening in fear. His wrist twitched as if he wanted to bite it again so the pain would give him something else to focus on rather than the overwhelming need to give into the transformation.

“M, I need you to do something for me,” Tao told him, and M-21 focused on him with difficulty, desperately searching for something to distract him. “Let go. Don’t fight it. It’ll be ok, I promise.”

A high pitched whine resounded from his throat, M-21 scrunching his eyes, feeling the power rippling from inside his heart, demanding to be let out, trying to break through all the walls he’s built to keep it in check.

“Let go, M, it’s ok.”

M-21 just couldn’t fight it anymore, his breathing so fast now it was hardly getting any air into his lungs, making him dizzy. The power was pulling at his being, wanting to rip through him. Without the pain, something sharp all his senses could concentrate on, he couldn’t stay focused, couldn’t control it. Not controlling his reactions was bad. Really bad. It meant he wasn’t obedient enough, not good enough. They’d come for him, they’d punish him.

“Let. Go.”

He cried out as the transformation took over, hunching over himself as fur rippled over his skin, covering him completely, the rest of his body taking the shape of a large wolf.

Tao stood up, taking two steps back to give him space, wincing as he heard bones snapping and rearranging themselves. Werewolf transformations didn’t look fun at all.

After the transformation was finished, M-21 fell one his side with a tired huff; keeping his instincts in check during full moon was exhausting. Then he remembered he transformed without permission, so he instinctively curled on himself, his ears pressed against his head, tail tucked, whining pleadingly at Tao not to hurt him.

“Attaboy! Well done!”

M-21 blinked. Huh? He did well?

Tao came to him and crouched down again, reaching to scratch him behind his ears. “Heh, you’re not exactly a puppy, are you?” Tao laughed. Muzaka was calling M-21 that, but in his wolf form, M-21 was definitely larger than a normal wolf.

M-21 sighed in relief that Tao didn’t seem angry, closing his eyes and leaning into his touch.

“What do you say, you feel up for a midnight snack? After you rest a little, of course. I’ve bought you some of those treats you like?” M-21 perked up at that, his tail wagging a little. Yeah, he’d like that.

_Posted Oct 1, 2017_

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

M-21 paced back and forth, his eyes narrowed.

“M-21…” Frankenstein said, still keeping his distance.

He _was_ standing! What else did Frankenstein want from him? A frustrated growl rippled out his throat, waiting for the punishment for something he couldn’t understand, couldn’t complete.

A soft sigh, and M-21 stilled, keeping Frankenstein in the corner of his eyes, watching him. But Frankenstein backed away further and M-21 turned his head towards another set of soft footsteps.

It was Tao, who sat down with his legs crossed. “Hey, M, c’mere?” Tao patted his lap.

M-21 approached him, pausing every so often to double-check what Tao was doing or where Frankenstein was. Frankenstein had left the room, and Tao’s body language was still relaxed. Tao would still be able to catch or hit him but there didn’t seem to be any stiffness belying his open posture.

Tao patted his lap again when M-21 was closer and M-21 curled up against him, laying his head against Tao’s head with a sigh. Tao made more sense than Frankenstein. Tao was like his new owner, letting him act like he’d been taught.

Tao ran his fingers through M-21′s hair, humming. “I know it’s confusing, but when Boss wanted you to stand, he meant on your - hm, back legs, like us.”

M-21 frowned. Frankenstein kept insisting he was something he wasn’t. He was a dog of the Union. …Not anymore, but he was still a dog, still needed an owner. There was no need for him to walk like a human.

Tao’s fingers were nice…

“-so do you wanna give it a try?”

It was something Frankenstein wanted, Frankenstein was close to his new owner, and he wasn’t to disobey orders when he was given them. Even -or especially- when they didn’t make sense.

M-21 got back to his feet and shook himself off, getting ready to stand like a human.

He blinked when Tao held his hand out to him after standing up and M-21 sniffed at his fingertips.

“Ehehe, I was meaning you can take my hand if ya wanted help.”

Help? Tao had already helped by explaining. He was supposed to do things without help after been given his orders. 

In the Union.

Which he wasn’t anymore.

His new collar ruffled as he looked at Tao’s hand and away again. He’d been given a new collar and new clothes here. To make sure he was marked as his new owner’s, but he’d also been given more food than he’d had in the Union, his own space in the building he could retreat to.

Tao was offering it, so he should take it?

M-21 reached over, still watching Tao for a sudden twitch of a muscle, and placed his hand over Tao’s.

“Great!” Tao clasped his hand over M-21′s and tugged him upwards, M-21 following.

It was strange. M-21 wavered, Tao’s hand helping to keep his balance. Why did Frankenstein want him to do this? But some humans didn’t make sense, and he was only to follow orders.

“There, ya did it!”

M-21 looked over at Tao’s cheer and -

No.

He was at eye level to Tao.

 _No_.

This was _wrong_.

He was _never_ supposed to be eye level with humans.

M-21 dropped back to all fours and skittered back, his heart hammering and blood roaring in his ears as he tried to get air back in his lungs. A high pitched whine escaped his throat as he squeezed his eyes shut and shook, waiting for the punishment.

“M, sssh, it’s okay, it’s okay-” M-21 flinched at a touch on his head, but the touch stayed light, only running through his hair and nothing rougher. His nose told him it was Tao there, not Jake, not someone from the Union. “You did good standing like that.” Still Tao’s voice, still Tao’s touch.

“Think that’ll be enough standing on two legs for just now,” Tao continued saying and M-21 stayed where he was, filling his senses with Tao, reminding himself he wasn’t in the Union anymore.

_Posted 29 Sept, 2017_


	15. Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon. 
> 
> Thanks for madameazzure for helping me figure out how this one would go.

M-21 walked down to the living room. Stairs were still a little difficult on two legs, his balance all wrong, and he held onto the banister to help. But he was able to do it without falling down. That was good. Successful. 

He gazed at the living room door for a second before he poked his head through the gap, checking who was there. 

Frankenstein was on the sofa and M-21 paused. Frankenstein was there. 

Maybe he shouldn’t - but - M-21 nibbled his lip, not hard enough to break the skin. 

Frankenstein was there and would be watching him. 

M-21 closed his eyes and took a breath. That wasn’t bad. Maybe it would be good. Because he was a ‘person’ and what he was going to do was ‘normal’ for a ‘person’ to do. 

Right. 

He was still nervous, his heart picking up its pace as he walked in, heading for the kitchen area. 

He was sure Frankenstein was watching him, but Frankenstein didn’t say anything, focused on whatever he was doing. Don’t always have to acknowledge the other person is there. ‘People’ can come and go as they please. 

M-21 reached for one of the cabinets, the one that held the glasses. He could do this. He was a ‘person’. He could drink from a glass like a ‘person’. 

He grasped one glass -not too hard, don’t squeeze- and brought it closer to him. 

He had enough time to hear his claws scratch against the glass before it shattered in his palm. 

He yelped both from surprise and pain as glass stabbed his palm. And then he stared in wide eyed horror at the sparkling pieces scattered around him. 

On the counter. 

All over the floor. 

Some of them still bouncing, not stopping yet. 

No no… Nononono, he’d made a _mess_. 

He cringed, backing away when he heard Frankenstein hurrying towards him. He couldn’t get his throat to work, all words gone. He _knew_ Frankenstein hated a mess. That was what made Frankenstein act like a Union owner, the flickering dark aura putting pressure on everyone in the room until the mess was cleared away. It was usually the children who made a mess and Frankenstein wouldn’t hurt _them_ but _he_ was only a hound, something disposable, something that-

“-your hand?”

He could hear Frankenstein but it was fighting against the buzzing in M-21′s ears, everything in him trying to overwhelm his senses. But he had to concentrate, had to hear what Frankenstein was saying or else Frankenstein would be angrier. 

He sucked in shallow breaths as he trembled. He’d pressed himself up against the counters, curled up in a protective ball. Frankenstein was crouched a little distance away from him. 

“M-21, please,” Frankenstein said. “I need to see your hand.” His voice was soft, not holding the thread of constrained anger it did when there was a mess. There was something else there, but M-21 couldn’t place it (and that was bad, bad, if he didn’t know what an owner was feeling), his thoughts scattering as he had them. 

M-21 did as he was ordered, holding his shaking hands out towards Frankenstein. 

Frankenstein took M-21′s injured hand, turning it over. M-21 braced himself for more pain. 

“Stay here, all right?” Frankenstein said. “I’ll be right back.” 

M-21 kept his hands out in front of him, following orders, as he watched Frankenstein head for another cupboard. He pulled out a big red bag, one M-21 had seen a few times before, Union owners using it when one had been injured in the lab. 

“A couple of the shards embedded into your palm — I’ll need to remove them before you heal around them.” 

But. That was fine? He could still use his hand afterwards. 

Frankenstein pushed M-21′s other hand down with light fingers. “You don’t need to keep holding this hand up.” Okay… “This will hurt a little,” Frankenstein said as he pulled out a small set of forceps. 

M-21 had heard that phrase before. It meant it would hurt a lot and he braced himself for the pain. 

“This one is the largest, so I’ll pull that one out first.” 

Frankenstein was still talking? M-21 whined as Frankenstein pulled out the shard. 

“There, that’s one done. There are a couple more I have to pull out.” 

He was _still_ talking. And Frankenstein didn’t stop, describing everything he was doing, warning M-21 when what he did would sting. It ended with Frankenstein wrapping a bandage around M-21′s hand and M-21 peered at it afterwards, flexing his hand. His hand felt fine, no jolts of pain with every movement. Why did he need the bandage? 

“How does that feel?” Frankenstein asked. “Not too tight?” 

M-21 shook his head. 

“Good.” Frankenstein cleared away the items he’d used on M-21′s hand. “I’ll clean this up.”

He didn’t have to clean the mess? But he’d made it in the first place…

But that was Frankenstein’s decision, so M-21 ducked under the table to get away. 

“M-21?” 

He paused, glancing back, wary that Frankenstein had changed his mind. 

Frankenstein smiled at him. “Thank you for trying. I’m glad you did.” 

M-21 blinked, not understanding Frankenstein’s words. 

“You did a good job.” 

M-21 stared. But. He’d made a mess. But. Frankenstein hadn’t been angry. Still wasn’t angry. 

M-21 scurried away on all fours, up the stairs until he reached the safety of his own room, Frankenstein’s words still ringing in his ears. 

He was a good boy…? He was still a ‘person’ even after making a mistake…?

_Posted Oct 6, 2017_


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

“Hey, M?” Tao poked his head into M-21′s room, looking around. It looked the same as Tao’s room when he first got it — especially the bed, which hadn’t been touched. Where…?

“M…?” He went in and found M-21 straight away, curled up against the corner of the room, his head facing the door. M-21 was still blinking, wasn’t standing up on all fours or otherwise. Considering what Tao remembered of needing to jump to attention once someone higher up entered a room he was in when he was in the Union, M-21 taking a while to react was showing he was starting to relax around them.

“Mornin’,” Tao said, smiling as M-21 yawned, flashing his fangs.

He got a grumble in reply, M-21 shaking himself off before approaching.

Tao hesitated a second, and then said, “ _Morning_ , M.”

The displeased glower he got wasn’t surprising, but M-21 wrinkled his nose as he huffed, clearly concentrating. “…Morning.” M-21 looked like he’d been forced to eat something he didn’t like, but Tao beamed at him, reaching over to pet him.

M-21 was more interested in that, leaning into his touch.

“You’ve got a bed, ya know,” Tao said. “This is your room, and everything in it’s yours. You can sleep in the bed.” Tao hadn’t had much interaction with hounds in the Union, the DA-5 not needing one, but he didn’t doubt hounds hadn’t been given beds with how M-21 acted.

M-21 didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and Tao didn’t push. M-21 had already verbally responded to him and that was enough for him.

“…Floor’s good.” M-21′s hands were flexing over the carpet, digging into the springiness.

Compared to the cold tiles in the Union, this was still an improvement. “Yeah. So,” Tao said, straightening, “breakfast?”

M-21 nodded, eyeing him from the corner of his eyes, but Tao didn’t make him verbally reply — the nod was enough for an answer. M-21 relaxed a little more after that, and they left M-21′s room together.

_Posted 30 Sept, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M-21 is confused and annoyed with this whole speech business. Why does he have to keep wasting breath replying to something that doesn’t matter, that doesn’t give more information. A nod or him just carrying out the orders was enough before. Exchanging pleasantries is weird.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by A ravenclaw marauder.

Tao was so absorbed into his codes that he didn’t notice the shuffling footsteps that came into his room even after almost an hour. As he was considering taking a break, he noticed some movement from the corner of his eyes, followed by a huge crash that made him turn around quickly from his desk.  
  
Beside his door, where he kept a large pile of machine parts, cowered M-21. He must’ve been waiting for him to notice him rather than attracting his attention and when, even after a long time he didn’t notice him, he just wanted to quietly back out.  
  
The problem was, rather than quietly backing out, he had knocked over one of his hills of spare parts and was now quivering in fear.  
  
Tao approached him and M-21 braced himself for the punishment that would surely rain down upon him now. He had harmed Tao, a human’s belongings! Even someone as patient as him would have to be angry now after committing such a great crime. He just shut his eyes and hunched his shoulders even more, preparing himself for his due punishment, flinching when Tao reached towards him.   
  
Instead of hitting him though, Tao just crouched down beside him, one hand slowly petting his head, nothing harsher than that. Astonished, M-21 slowly peeked open an eye.  
  
“Hey M. Are you okay?” Why was he asking him if he was okay? It was his properties that he destroyed just now?  
  
“Those things were pretty heavy, did any of them fall on you?”  
  
Tao could understand M-21’ fear but he didn’t blame him. Even he himself knocked things over on a daily basis in his cluttered mess of a room.  
  
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t be scared. Are you hurt somewhere?”  
  
M-21 slowly raised his head and shook a no, blood still roaring in his ears. Tao will even forgive him this?  
  
“Why did you come here M?” After this, he could still ask for even more?  
  
“Come on, tell me?” Tao encouraged M-21, all the while running his hand softly through his hair.  
  
“….hungry..” M-21 hesitantly stated the reason of his arrival, deciding to push his luck.  
  
“Why didn’t you just call me? I could’ve given you something a long while ago.” Tao immediately got up, happy that M-21 had finally started to ask for things on his own. M-21 followed him, surprised.  
  
Halfway down the hall Tao noticed that M-21 was following him with a slight limp. On a closer look M-21 was holding his left wrist gingerly, not putting much weight on it.  
  
“M, did you hurt your hand? Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
….It’s just a broken wrist? He was never treated for such a small injury in union. It will heal itself after some while, won’t it?  
  
“Come on, let’s get your hand treated from boss first. Then we can go and cook some ramen for ourselves,” Tao said to him with a smile.  
  
M-21 still couldn’t feel any menace from Tao. That doesn’t mean that he can’t hurt him though, specially as they were going to the lab. But so far, Tao hasn’t hurt him even once, nor has any other person in the house. Maybe his new owners are this weird after all?

_Posted Sept 30, 2017_


	18. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure and darkicedragon.
> 
> Self harm and on screen abuse in this snippet.

_M-21 sighed quietly, reflexively pressing further against the wall as if to take as little space as possible, resting his head on his knees._

_He had seen M-24 earlier that day. Just in passing though, no more than a glance exchanged between them as they walked by each other on the hallways of the Union facility._

_M-24 was accompanying that strict owner lady his own owner was so afraid of, but he looked… alright. Fully clothed, wearing a standard Union uniform, well fed, his skin not clinging to his bones like it used to, though M-21 had spotted many new scars meaning his owner had put him through quite a lot. Still… he was alive, so M-21 was content._

_It must’ve been nice, having an owner like that, giving their hound food and clothes, M-21 mussed. His stomach growled, twisting and turning painfully, so he pressed his hands onto it in hopes of easing the sensation. His owner had forgotten to feed him in quite a while now, and because he was so hungry, he’d started doing badly in the missions. He was no longer able to fight like he used to, run for as long as he used to, becoming tired so much faster than before._

_Not being good enough made his owner mad and his temper was short and hand heavy._

_It was just a matter of time until he would be punished again. Even more so as his owner seemed to be in a very bad mood._

_M-21 sneaked a glance at him._

_The other owners had scolded him that day, even M-24’s owner told him some harsh words, and that did not sit well with him. He was drinking whatever that awful substance was, that made his volcanic temper even more so, smoking those smelly cigars that kept throwing off M-21’s sense of smell._

_“Yer awfully lively, aren’t ya?” Jake suddenly said, glaring at him, and M-21 flinched, quickly averting his gaze._

_Oh, no! Big mistake! He never should’ve looked at him, never should’ve misbehaved like that. How dared he look at his owner without permission?_

_“Bite your hand until it bleeds,” Jake sneered at him and M-21 immediately obeyed, sinking his fangs deep into his wrist until blood tricked down his chin._

_Jake chuckled darkly and turned to his bottle. “Dumb mutt,” he muttered to himself before taking another sip. He stared at nothing in particular, lost in thought, and as he kept drinking, whatever he was thinking of seemed to make him more pissed off by the moment, his face twisting into a scowl_

_“Fucking elder saying I failed the mission,” Jake tsked angrily, kicking the table hard enough that it flew into the opposite wall and broke into pieces. “Killed important scientist, my ass.” He drowned the rest of the bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "All ‘cuz you just had to disobey me and go kill those bastards, you piece of trash!”_

_No, M-21 didn’t, couldn’t disobey his owner! He did as Jake ordered him: kill everyone in sight. He did! He did!_

_M-21 flinched as the bottle broke near his head, shards of glass scattering all around him, but dared not raise his gaze as he heard Jake suddenly stand up from his chair._

_"Now look what they’re making me do because of you!” Jake continued, walking to the corner of the room where M-21 was sitting. “Search for goddamn coffins!” He grabbed M-21 by his throat, forcing him to let go of his hand and face him, even if M-21 was doing his best not to look him in the eye._

_“Seems to me like that crazy woman didn’t teach ya the meaning of discipline,” Jake took a long drag out of his cigar before taking it from his lips and holding it between his fingers, “so it looks like I’ll have to.” His malicious laughter sent shivers down M-21’s spine, making his heart beat faster and faster, M-21 doing his best not to whimper in fear because he knew all too well what it meant._

_The last thing M-21 saw out the corner of his eyes was the smoldering light of the cigar going for his eyes._

M-21 yelped, pain shocking him. But not from his eyes, but his back and wrist. He tasted blood.

He panted, staring up at the ceiling. The high ceiling. The _clean_ ceiling.

The ceiling hadn’t looked like that when Jake had burned his eyes.

He curled up, still trembling from the memory. Jake was gone. He had new owners. New owners who didn’t treat him like Jake.

It didn’t stop him from thinking about that day, of what Jake did.

M-21 rolled over to stand up but paused. The Tao plushie had fallen off the bed with him and he slowly reached over to pick it up, holding it to his chest.

It still smelled of Tao and he breathed in deep, the scent chasing away the ghost memory of cigar smoke and burnt flesh.

But…

M-21 peered at his door. The scent wasn’t as strong as it used to be. Maybe he could…?

Taking the plushie with him, M-21 went to Tao’s door and settled down with a sigh. Takeo and Tao’s scents were fresher here and M-21′s heart calmed down at the familiarity, feeling safer.

It didn’t take him long to doze off.

* * *

Tao turned his head towards his door. He was sure he’d heard…

He waited a couple seconds - and there it was, a soft creak of the floorboards.

It wasn’t in the centre of the corridor where most people would stand, which left only one likely suspect.

He padded over to his door and peeked out.

Yup, M-21 was curled up right there, the Tao plushie poking out from the crook of his arm, which was still adorable.

What wasn’t as adorable was the trail of blood that ran thick rivers over M-21′s arm. It wasn’t the full moon tonight and M-21 was still in his humanoid form, so why had he...?

“Hey, M,” Tao whispered as he crouched down. “Hey.”

M-21 twitched, his eyes snapping open as he backed away.

“It’s me!” Tao said, and M-21 blinked. “You okay?” Bad question — of course he wasn’t. “What’s wrong?”

M-21 glanced away. “Bad…” He stopped. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds and then shook his head. “Sleep. Bad sleep.”

A nightmare? “All right. Wanna sleep with me?”

“W-what?”

“You came here, right?” Tao said, nodding. “And I’m not gonna let you sleep on the _floor_.” Not after all the coaxing he and Takeo had done to get M-21 to sleep in the bed.

M-21 was opening and closing his mouth. “Okay?” he eventually said. M-21 got to his feet.

Hm. “Do you want to sleep with me or do you want to go back to your bed?” Better make sure M-21 didn’t think it was an order.

“Sleep with you,” M-21 said as soon as Tao finished his question.

“All right. But first,” Tao said, “we should clean up your arm.”

M-21 glanced at it like he hadn’t realised it was wounded. Or he didn’t think it was that important. M-21 bobbed his head and Tao lead him to his bathroom.

The bite marks had sealed over when Tao ran water over it but he was still gentle with the towel as he dried it.

“All done!” Tao declared once they’d gotten the blood off M-21′s face as well. “Now for bed.”

M-21 followed him as Tao climbed into bed first, lying next to him. It wasn’t a tight squeeze, but there would be a problem if either of them moved a lot while they slept. Tao knew M-21 didn’t, which meant himself.

The plushie lay in the safest place, between them, and when M-21 reached over, Tao clasped his hand. He hoped it wasn’t as traumatising as the last time he’d had to do this with M-21, but if the nightmare had driven M-21 from his room, it must have been bad.

M-21′s eyes were already fluttering and Tao watched him drift off, making sure he didn’t head straight back into another nightmare. When it seemed like M-21 had fallen fast asleep, Tao fell asleep as well.

* * *

There was more noise in Tao’s room than he was used to. Closer as well. 

Someone breathing. 

And… His bed was moving in time with someone else’s breathing. 

Oh, right. 

He peeked and got a light, sharp inhale in response. M-21 was already awake and at the edge of Tao’s bed, only just balancing there. 

“Mornin’, M,” Tao said, stretching his arms up into the air. 

M-21 was unsurprisingly not looking at him. “Morning.” 

“Feel better?” Tao asked as he sat up. 

M-21 didn’t say anything for a few seconds and then nodded. 

“Good.” So that was one thing down. “We should get you a new shirt,” Tao mused, tapping a cheek. He could fix M-21′s old one, but for the moment, M-21 couldn’t really walk around with a top with a ripped of sleeve. “So let’s go to your room, okay?” 

M-21 nodded again and followed him out the room. 

“Sooo,” Tao said once they were in M-21′s room, spreading the clothes in the cupboard so M-21 could see them better, “what colour do you want?” 

M-21 peered at the shirts in turn before saying, “Blue.” 

“Nice choice!” Tao said as he picked one out. He helped M-21 put the shirt on and then turned to inspect the bed. “Hmm…” The Takeo plushie was still laying next to the pillow and seemed like it had thankfully missed most of the carnage. The _rest_ of the bed was crumpled, a wide dark red puddle covering where M-21′s arm would have lay. 

The linen would have to be washed, that was for sure. That wasn’t what Tao was concerned about. “Looks like your blanket got hit with your blood, M,” Tao said. “We’re gonna have to wash it.” 

M-21 blinked, tilting his head slightly. 

Well, if M-21 watched them as they washed it, it should be fine?

* * *

“I think he’s going to get dizzy,” Takeo murmured. 

“Wanna bet?” Tao said. M-21 hadn’t took his eyes off his blanket once it was put inside the washing machine, his head going around in fast small circles. 

“No…” 

“Aww, that’s no fun.” 

Takeo shook his head and Tao focused on M-21 again. He seemed fine continuing to watch his blanket, his balance still stable. 

* * * 

“Aaand it’s done!” Tao said as Takeo pulled M-21′s blanket out of the dryer machine. 

M-21 reached for it and it was warm. Very warm. He buried his face in it and took in a deep breath. 

He froze, a long whine squeezing out his throat. 

“M?” Tao said, patting his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

This wasn’t _his_ blanket! It had been replaced! “Not mine,” M-21 said, wanting to drop it. Was this one now his? Would they take it away too if he dropped it? 

“It _is_ yours,” Takeo said. “You saw us put it in the machines.”

But it didn’t _smell_ like his blanket! It didn’t have any of the familiar scents! 

“Hmm.” Tao prodded the blanket and then tugged a bit so a corner was exposed. “These holes were from your claws, weren’t they?”

M-21 squinted at the corner. There were five holes there and he poked at them. His claws fit in perfectly. This…was his? “But no scents?” Where had they gone?

“We washed your blanket to get rid of the blood,” Takeo said, “and must have washed the rest of the scents as well.” 

“Buuut if that’s what’s wrong,” Tao said, petting M-21′s blanket, “we could go watch a movie with the blanket and get our scents back on it again. How ‘bout that?”

M-21 nodded, pressing his face into where Tao had touched. It smelled like Tao again. Yes, he’d like that.

  _Posted 19 Oct, 2017  
_


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by darkicedragon.

* * *

Tao turned his head at the sound of a door closing. He smiled, dropping his hand over his armrest, M-21 pushing his head into Tao’s hand.

“What’s up?” Tao said, most of his attention still on the screen, his free hand typing.

“Sleep?”

“Hm?” Tao glanced at M-21, who was looking up at him. “If you wanna sleep, you don’t need my permission.” M-21 hadn’t asked that before, but then, M-21 usually want to bed when he or Takeo did…

M-21 huffed. “You. Sleep.”

“Oh!” Tao snickered and ruffled M-21′s hair. “I will — I just need five more minutes.” 

M-21 nodded, letting Tao pet him for a little longer before leaving again.

Now, what else did he need to do to fix the code…?

* * *

Tao twitched at a light pressure at his elbow and looked down to see M-21 there, studying him. “…Sleep?”

Oh, right. “Sorry, M, musta lost track of time, heh. Give me five minutes to finish up and I’ll go to bed, don’t worry.”

M-21 bobbed his head, still watching him, and then left the room.

If he had five minutes, he needed to make a list of all the things that had cropped up earlier…

* * *

“All riiight,” Tao muttered under his breath, squinting at the screen. That had to be half of -

Tao yelped as he was scooped up. The room span and Tao blinked up at Takeo’s face.

“Wha-? Hey, I was gonna-!”

“Finish in five minutes,” Takeo finished, giving him a wry smile.

“Well, yeah,” Tao grumbled, trying to peek over Takeo’s shoulder.

“Your computer has an autosave option and no-one else is going to touch it,” Takeo said as they left the security room.

“Then I could just-”

“It’s three in the morning.”

Was it? Tao tried to remember the last time he’d looked at the clock, but when that failed, he squinted up at Takeo. “How’d you know to check on me anyway?”

“Because _somebody_ woke me up because he was worried about you.” Takeo nodded deeper into the house.

Somebo-? Tao looked over and got a flash of movement in the distance. “…Oooh.” M-21 wouldn’t think he’d be able to force Tao to go to bed, so he’d gotten Takeo’s help instead. “He actually said that?”

“He thought you needed sleep.”

He was worried about him. And M-21 had to be _really_ worried if he was willing to wake Takeo up. “All right, I’ll go sleep,” Tao said, snuggling deeper into Takeo’s arms.

* * *

Tao stretched as he poured himself a cup of coffee, hearing someone approach him from behind. “Mornin’, M,” he said. M-21 was usually easy to identify, his gait not heading directly for the kitchen.

“Morning…” The reply was subdued, and Tao glanced over.

M-21 was standing on two feet by the door, eyeing him. It had been a while since M-21 had been reluctant to go near him.

“Hey, what’s up?” Tao said, setting the coffee down.

M-21 looked away. “Not angry?”

Angry for what? Tao almost said. They’d been fine the previous night, and Tao hadn’t raised his voice so M-21 would misunderstand. The only thing - oh, right.

“Nah, not angry,” Tao said, shaking his head. “Go call on Takeo again if you think I’m being stubborn about sleep. Or ya can keep pestering me too.”

M-21 didn’t say anything, and then relaxed, walking towards him. “Okay.”

_Posted 30 Sept, 2017_


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Madame aZure

Different. Everything was different, but… not in a bad way.

He went out on a stroll. On his own. Without asking permission.

… though he did tell Frankenstein where he was going, because the rest of the household did so when going out, and it was only polite he did the same.

He bought himself a burger and a drink. Because he wanted to. With money he’s earned. On his job as a security guard at the Ye-Ran High School. Like a person.

Now he was relaxing on the edge of a sky-scraper, soaking in the sun, enjoying his meal, which he could eat because he felt like it, not because someone told him to.

It was almost surreal. Months ago he’d never even have dared to think about something like this, let alone hope to achieve it someday. He always thought his end would come while protecting his owner, which he… failed to do.

M-21’s hand went to the collar – cravat Rai gave him. He couldn’t help think that he should’ve been the one to die that day, not Jake.

An explosion startled him out of his contemplation, and he quickly jumped to his feet, twisting on his heels to where the sound came from, already adopting an attack stance.

The KSA Headquarters!

In the distance, he could see smoke rise from the building, and with the last Cerberus attack, his first thought was: enemies! Most likely another attack, the Union retaliating for the death of the 12th Elder.

What should he do? Wait for Tao to give him an order. That’s what he should –

 _No, M-21, decide for yourself,_ he scolded himself. He had to act now! He could dispatch or, in the worst case scenario, delay the enemies and prevent more innocent bystanders from getting hurt at least until the rest of the household arrived.

With his decision made, he threw his meal away and started jumping rooftop to rooftop, as fast as he could towards the KSA Headquarters, his claws already out and ready.

He landed on the rooftop, looking around. He could feel a presence, but that person seemed to exceed at concealing their aura, so he couldn’t tell what they were for sure. Enhanced human? Werewolf? Noble?

“Oh my…”

M-21 froze at the sound of that voice.

It was smooth like velvet, a claw of terror crushing his ribcage until he could no longer draw breath, sending his heart into a frenzy of chaotic, painful beats; dripping like honey, making him remember all the wrongs he’s done these past few months. How he followed strangers who just gave him a collar and called them owners. How he ate, how he slept, how he breathed without permission. How he stood up, looked people in the eye, and learned to speak. How he became something more than just a mindless beast.

 _Lie_ , a little voice told him and how could he? He could never even dream to deceive that person, and even if he would attempt, she would crack his skull open and pluck the thoughts right out of his head.

In the blink of an eye he wasn’t there anymore, on the KSA Headquarters’ rooftop, smoke all around him.

He was small and young and trapped inside a cage. _  
_

_Blink._

He was pulled by his wrists, faceless people dressed white dragging him into a white, white room. _  
_

_Blink.  
_

He was tied to a table, needles digging into his skin, fire crawling up his veins, melting his insides into a puddle of nothing. _  
_

_Blink._

He was underwater, the cold seeping into his bones, and couldn’t breathe, no air no air no air…

_Blink.  
_

He was screaming as they cut his limbs just to watch them grow again. _  
_

_Blink._

He was awake and unable to move as they opened wide his throat and took away his voice. _  
_

_Blink.  
_

He was blind and deaf and mute and couldn’t feel a thing, not even the tears running down his face. 

_Blink.  
_

He was out of his mind, his claws digging deep into M-24’s ribcage as his comrade, his friend still smiled at him in his last moments. 

_Blink._

He was right before _her_.

The one who trained him.

“What have we here?” Ignes purred with delight at the sight of M-21. “One of my puppies,” she said, not because she remembered him in particular – dear lord, she’d never bother to remember any of those mutts – but because she could recognize that look of absolute terror in her subjects anywhere.

She didn’t even need to comment on it because M-21 was instantly back on all fours, cowering in fear, his head bowed low, not daring to meet her eyes, and trembling from all his joints.

“Hmm, what number were you? 68? 54? No, I gave you to Jake,” she hummed, sauntering to him. “21.” She came to a stop right in front of him, regarding him with a wicked smile until her gaze fell on the white silk cravat around his neck and her lips twisted briefly in cold anger.

“I thought with Jake dead, you ought to be so too, but it doesn’t seem like that, now does it? It almost seems like…” gently, she slipped a hand around his neck and with a quick and fluid motion untied the cravat, “you betrayed us!” She roared slamming his head on the ground with the back of her heel and pressing on it. M-21 barely gasped, as the kick was powerful enough to make a small crater and throw his head into a painful daze. Throughout the throbbing pain, one thought rang loud and clear: don’t fight back. Never challenge the Mistress. Never disobey the Mistress. Never disappoint the Mistress.

Hadn’t he just done all that daring to act like a person?

“Found yourself new owners, have you?” She said, examining the cravat, which wasn’t made from just simple fabric, but woven of noble power. It was as Crombel said, those cockroaches had stepped out of Lukedonia.

“Tut tut, and here I thought I taught you better, mutt.” She sighed, digging her heel into the back of his head, M-21 not daring even to whimper.  Mistress hated when he made noises; that’s why she took his voice in the first place. But Frankenstein gave it back… M-21 bit the inside of his cheek to make sure to stay as silent as possible.

 “Still, you’ve proven yourself somewhat useful.” Igness huffed, taking her foot off his head, bowing down so she could grab him by the hair with her free hand, yank upwards and force him to stand so she could look him straight in the eyes.

“You are going to lead me to the noble who gave you this,” she said slowly, fluttering the white cravat in front of his face. M-21’s breath hitched in his throat as she disintegrated it in front of his very eyes. His collar…

She then pointed at his throat with a finger, and he could feel something cold, metallic, _terrifyingly familiar_ form around his neck, tight enough he could feel each of its spikes digging into his skin with every breath he took.

“Understood?”

“Yes.”

_Posted Oct 4, 2017_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil’ snippet I talked about with darkicedragon on who exactly trained M-21 to be the way he is. My first thought was Crombel, but he’d never get his hands dirty unless it’s about stealing research. So Ignes. Yep :/


End file.
